Apparatus for piling sheet material



P G SNYDER APPARATUS FOR FILING SHEET MATERIAL April 28, '1953 FiledDec. 15, 1949 April 28, 1953 SNYDER 2,636,736

APPARATUS FOR FILING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Dec. 15, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. PEPE) G-SNYDE'E A TTOIPNE Y5 April 28, 1953 Filed Dec. 13,1949 I AM) P. G. SNYDER APPARATUS FOR FILING SHEET MATERIAL 5Sheets-Sheet 5 I II I .nhmw. M B a" IHHHIH INVEN TOR. PEEP) 6. SNYDERKWXA LL40 I APPARATUS FOR FILING SHEET MATERiAL Filed Dec. 15, 1949 '5Sheets-Sheet 4 0 INVENTOR.

PER/P) a. SNYDER A TTOR/VE'YS A ril 28, 1953 P. G. SNYDER 2,636,736

APPARATUS FOR FILING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Dec. 15, 1949 s Sheets-Sheet 55/ 95 /x/ 55 52 [7 I III I? 66 /8 INVEN TOR. PERRY 6 SNYDER PatentedApr. 28, 1953 APPARATUS FOR PILING SHEET MATERIAL Perry G. Snyder,Youngstown, Ohio, assignor to The Aetna-Standard Engineering Company,Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 13, 1949,Serial No. 132,649

14 Claims. (01. 271--68) This invention. relates to piling apparatus forsheet material and more particularly to such apparatus adapted for usewith tin plate classifiers.

The final steps in the production of tin plate consist in shearing acontinuous strip into sheets of the desired length, c assifying andseparating the sheets in accordance with their gauge and/ or the qualityof finish, and then piling or stacking the classified sheets into pilesof convenient size for handling and shipping. Devices for performingthese steps are known as classifiers. The invention as described hereinrelates to improvements in the piling apparatus associated with such tinplate classifiers. It is to be understood, however, that the inventionmay be used in the processing or handling of other materials and inconjunction with other types of apparatus and is not limited in itsapplication to the production of tin plate.

In order to pile sheets accurately, it is a usual practice to projectthe sheets from a pair of rolls so that the forward edges of the sheetsengage a stop which guides them onto a piling platform. In order toclassify and pile the sheets at a high rate in terms of number of sheetsper unit of time, it is necessary that the sheets enter the apparatus athigh lineal speeds. To prevent damage to the forward ends of the sheetsas they strike the stop, the entering speed of the sheets must begreatly reduced. This necessitates the shingling or overlapping of thesheets as they pass through the apparatus and are discharged from therolls. When sheets are discharged from flat rolls at low lineal speedsthe leading edges of the sheets bend downwardly. This bending,

particularly with shingled sheets, is likely to cause I jamming of theapparatus and damage to the sheets.

To overcome these difficulties, one form of classifier piling apparatus,as disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,328,859, issued September 7,1943, to Clarence L. Taylor, embodies a-pair of convex and concave rollsadapted to impart a lateral bowing to the sheets to give them stifinessalong their longitudinal axes so that they can be projected from therolls and onto the platform in a manner which permits them to be piledproperly.

In the present invention an improved piling apparatus is provided whichis adapted to impart a similar lateral bowing to the sheets. The bowingis accomplished in a manner which enables better control in handling thesheets and which minimizes the danger of scratching or otherwisedamaging the sheets. The apparatus is capable of varying the amount ofbowing which is imparted to the sheets while the apparatus is inoperation. Thus the eiTect of changes in the amount of bowing can beobserved and proper adjustment made to obtain the best results.

A general object of my invention is to provide piling apparatus adaptedto pile sheets at high rates without damage to the sheets and withoutjamming of the apparatus. A further object is to provide a pilingapparatus which will pile sheets of material in accurate uniform pileswith none of the edges or corners protruding in a position likely toresult in damage thereto. A further object is the provision of apparatusfor bowing the sheets as they are discharged in which the amount ofbowing can be varied while the apparatus is in operation. Another objectis to provide a piling apparatus which will not mar or scratch thefinish of the sheets. Yet another object is to provide a pilingapparatus which is easy to install, to operate and to maintain.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following descriptionof a preferred form of my invention, reference being made to theaccompanying drawings. The essential characteristics of the inventionare summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a somewhat dia grammatic side elevation ofa tin plate classifier having associated therewith a preferred form ofpiling apparatus embodying my invention; Figure 2 is a fragmentary endelevation on an enlarged scale of the classifier of Figure 1 showing inaddition, the stops and lateral guides for the sheets; Figure 4 is atransverse view, partly in section and corresponding generally to Figure2, but on an enlarged scale, showing the manner of supporting andadjusting the rolls comprising the piling apparatus; Figure 5 is avertical sectional view taken as indicated by line 5-5 of Figure 3showing the manner in which the outer ends of the piler rolls aresupported; and Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken as indicatedby line 66 of Figure 3.

Briefly my invention comprises improved means for imparting a lateralbowing to the sheets in order to project the sheets horizontallyoutwardly, thus enabling the sheets to fall onto a pile accurately anduniformly. The lateral bowing is produced by drawing the sheets intocontact with a pair of cylindrical rolls whose longitudinal axes aretilted toward each other. To insure contact with the rolls, magneticmeans preferably are employed to draw the sheets against the rolls. Inthis manner the sheets are given a longitudinal stiffness which enablesthem to project out beyond the piling rolls without bending or saggingof the forward portions and to drop flat onto the pile. Means are alsoprovided to prevent sheets from becoming fouled or entangled with therolls.

The piling apparatus is particularly illustrated for use with the tinplate classifier shown in Figure 1. In such a classifier, tin plate incontinuous strip form is gauged and then sheared into sheets which arethen directed according to their gauge to one of a plurality of flightsor series of :pilers l8 and 22.

3 conveyors, Whose function is to convey the sheets to the pilers and to510W the sheets down to a speed which permits accurate piling withoutdamage to the sheets.

Thus, as shown in Figure 1, the tin plate in strip form is first gaugedby a flying micrometer G and then passed through a flying shearv M whichcuts it into sheets I l of the required length. From the shear thesheets are carried by a con veyor E2 to a classifying mechanism inthe-form of a deflector or flipper it which is controlled by themicrometer through a time delay mechanism and which causes the on-gaugesheets to pass toa prime flight or series of belt conveyors I5, 16

and ll leading to a piler it and diverts the offgauge sheets to a rejectflight or series of conveyors l9, 2E5 and 2! leading to the piler .22.Ap-

paratus of this general type is well known, being disclosed in theaforesaid Taylor patent and in the Kaufman Patent No. 2,146,581.

Itshould be noted that the conveyor 12 operates at a greater speed thanthe lineal speed -:of the shear and the strip entering the shear.;:forexample, if the speed of the .strip'int'o the shear is about 1600 feetper minute, the speed of the conveyor [2 would be about 1133 feet perminute. The difference in speed spaces thesheets on the conveyor 12 togive time for the flipper [3 to separate the sheets according to theirgauge and to direct them to the proper conveyors.

The prime and reject flights of conveyors operate to slow down the speedof the sheets, and to straighten them if they are askew in their travelalong'the conveyors, before the sheets reach the Since the prime andreject flights of conveyors are identical in construction and operationand since the pilers t8 and 22 are likewise identical, only the primeflight of conveyors and the piler l8 will be described.

Each of the conveyors-l2, I 5, l6 and i! preferably comprises a pair ofparallel endless belts traveling on end pulleys driven by individualmotor drives, motor 25 driving conveyor l2 through belt 26, and motors21., 28 and 29 driving conveyors l5, l5 and I! of the prime flight,respectively, through similar belts. The conveyors l9, 2!] and 2| of thereject flight are. driven by similar motors 30, 3! and 32. The speeds ofthe motors are preferably independently controllable by means notshownsc that the speed of each conveyor can "be modified to meet variousoperating conditions. .To reduce the speed of the sheets, eachsuccessive conveyor is operated at a slower speed so that by the timethe sheets. reach the ,piler J8 their speed is in the range of.20torlEiO feet per .minute. Thus, whereas in the given .example the speed.of conveyor 12 .is 1133 feet per minute, conveyor i is operatedatspeeds of approximately .1066 feet per minute, conveyor 15 i'onconveyor, i6, and to about -80% on conveyor ll, see Figure 5.

To insure proper operation of the conveyors, means are preferablyprovided to keep the fast moving sheets in contact with the conveyorbelts to prevent them from sailing or planing through scribed in detailherein.

the air; to facilitate the transfer of'sheets from one conveyor to thenext; and to straighten the sheets if they should be out of alignment.Thus a plurality of magnets M are disposed beneath the belts ofeachconveyor in order to draw the sheets into contact with the conveyorbelts. Certain of these magnets are so disposed and operated so astohave the additional -iunctions of straighten- "ing the sheets withrespect to the belts and of aidingin. the transfer of the sheets fromone conveyor to the next. Also, hold-down rolls 33, located at the endsof conveyors I5, l6, l9 and 25 are provided to assist in the transfer ofthe sheets to the succeeding conveyors. These and other features of theclassifier are, however, described in detail in copending applicationSerial No. 10%,-

078, filed July 11, 1949,.assigned to the assignee of this application,to which reference is hereby made, and hence will not be furtherdescribed herein. .For the'purpose of this application, it is'ssuflicient to say thatthe flights of conveyors male- 'ing up theclassifier deliver sheets'to their respective pilers at speeds of, forexample, 200 to 450 feet 'per minute, the sheets being, substantiallyaligned with respect to their line of travel and preferably overlappingeach other in a shingled fashion. The sheets are thus delivered from theconveyors .to the pilers in a condition which facilitates the pilingoperation.

The piling apparatus 18, :as mentioned above comprises the rolls .35and-36 disposed adjacent the exit end of conveyor I7 in a position toreceive the sheets from the conveyor and to pile themon a receivingplatform 31. Preferably the platform is of the elevating type which israised and lowered by the elevating mechanism indicated at 3 3. At thebeginning of a run theplatform is raised to a position slightly belowthe piling rolls and is'then gradually "lowered by the operator-as thepiled sheets accumulate. Atthe end of the run, or whenever the pilereaches the desired sizathe platform is lowered to an unloading positionand the piled sheets are removed. The platform itself is provided withrollers 39'to facilitate removing the'piled sheets from the platform andtransferring the sheets to any conventional conveying means such as aroller-conveyor (not shown) In order to guide the sheets as they aredeposited :on the platform, a stop member 42 and-lateral guides 53 areprovided. The construction and operation of the stop member Q2 and thelateral guides 33 is described in the aforesaid Taylor patent andaccordingly will not be de- Sumoe it to say that theposi-tion of thestop member 42 is adjustable toward and away from the piling rolls inaccordance with the size of the sheets and the speed at which theytravel and that the lateral guides are similarly adjustable toaccommodate sheets of various widths.

In order to insure that the sheets will strike the stop membersuniformly and will fall accurately into place on the pile, the sheetsare given a lateral upwardly concave bowing by the rolls so that theywill be projected substantially horizontally outwardly for their fulllength before striking the stop members. The lateral bowing impartsstiffness to the sheets and because of this stiffness thefront portionsof the sheets cannot sag downwardly to, any great extent until thesheets are released by the rolls. The shingled arrangement of the sheetsholds the trailing portions of the sheets down in back of the rolls.Thus the rolls project all of the sheets toward the stops 42 insubstantially the sam manner, which results in accurate piling. Thebending also prevents the forward portions of the sheets from saggingdownwardly to scrape across the top face of the preceding piled sheetthus enabling the sheets to be piled without scratching.

This lateral concave bowing of the sheets is produced by tilting thelongitudinal axes of the rolls 35 and 36 toward each other with theinner ends of the rolls positioned at substantially the same level asthe conveyor IT and with the outer ends of the rolls raised above theinner ends. A magnet, indicated at 45, is located adjacent the innerends of the rolls, between and somewhat in front of the rolls, and actsto hold the center portions of the sheets down. In this manner thesheets are given the lateral bowing which is required to handle thesheets properly.

The rolls as shown in Figures 2 and 4 are uniform in diameter andpreferably are approximately equal in diameter to the end pulleys 46 ofthe conveyor H, see Figure 5. The rolls are driven at a speedsubstantially equal to the speed of the conveyor ll by means of a motor.1 con-- nected by the belt 48 and pulley 49 to the roll 35 as shown inFigure 3. The flexibilty of the belt drive permits the motor to drivethe roll no matter what its tilted position may be. A universal coupling50 provides a driving connection between the rolls for all degrees ofaxial tilting between the rolls.

The rolls are adjustable so that the degree of tilting of thelongitudinal axes thereof can be adjusted during operation of theapparatus in accordance With the characteristics of the sheets beingpiled, the rolls being tilted more to impart a greater amount of bowingfor sheets of lighter gauge and relatively greater length and beingtilted less for sheets of inherently greater stiffness such as sheets ofheavier gauge and relatively short length.

Any suitable manner of supporting the rolls may be provided whichpermits the rolls to be tilted and to be driven in these positions.According to the preferred form of the invention shown in Figures 2 and4, the rolls have stub shafts journaled in bearing blocks 52 which inturn are supported by outer bearing support posts 53 and inner supportposts 54. The bearing blocks are designed to have a limited universalmovement to permit the rolls to be canted or tilted. Thus the bearingblocks are preferably cylindrical in shape with the axes of thecylinders extending at right angles to the axes of the rolls and aremounted for turning movement in suitable cylindrical recesses 55 in thebearing support posts 53 and 54. When the bearing sup .port posts areraised or lowered, by means to be described, the bearing blocks willturn in their recesses and permit the rolls to be tilted toward eachother. Thus, if the rolls are originally installed with their axesparallel and aligned, raising of the outer support posts 54 whilekeeping the inner posts 53 fixed will result in tilting of permits theinner posts 54 to remain fixed and the outer posts 53 to be adjustedvertically to give the rolls the desired tilt. The inner support postshave relatively short stems which extend downwardly through the sleeves6| secured. to the brackets 58, through the apertures 62 in the flangesof the brackets, and through the sleeves 63 also fixed to the bracketsand spaced vertically from the flanges of the brackets, see Figures 4and 6. The inner posts are held fixed against vertical movement andagainst turning movement as well, by means of tapered pins 64 which aredriven into tapered holes in the upper sleeves BI and in the posts. Inthis manner the inner posts are firmly supported in fixed position.

The outer posts are substantially longer than the inner posts, extendingdownwardly through the sleeves fifi secured to the brackets 58, throughthe apertures 61 in the brackets 58, through the apertures 68 in thebracket 59, and through the spaced sleeve members 69 and 10 secured tothe bracket 59. The outer posts are provided with vertical slots and thesleeves 66 are similarly slotted to receive keys 12, see Figure 2, whichpermit vertical sliding movement of the posts but which restrain theposts against turning movement to prevent binding of the rolls andjamming of the adiusting mechanism which might otherwise result fromsuch turning movement.

The outer posts are supported in their vertical position by a horizontalmember 13 which extends through slots 74 in the posts and which hassliding movement therein to adjust the vertical position of the posts aswill be described. The member 13, as shown, takes the form of arelatively narrow elongated plate, rectangular in section, which issupported by the sleeves 59 and 10, the member fitting withinhorizontally extending grooves or slots 15 and 16 in the sleeves 69 and10, respectively, and having horizontal sliding movement therein.

The member I3 is moved horizontally by a conventional feed screw and nutarrangement comprising a nut 11 secured to one end of the member 13. anda screw 18 engaging the nut, see Figures 2 and 4. The screw is journaledas at T9 in a well known manner which secures the screw againsthorizontal longitudinal movement but which permits the screw to bereadily turned by the handle or crank to move the nut and hence themember 13 horizontally.

The slots 14 in the outer bearing posts are cruciform in section, seeFigure 5, having a central portion Bi and arm portions 82, the armportions having upper and lower cam surfaces 33 and 84 which extendslantingly upwardly. The member 13 is adapted to extend within thecentral portion 8! of the slot and has cam strips ilfi'aflixed thereto,which are rectangular in section and which are adapted to lie within thearm portions 82 of the slots. The strips extend slantingly across themember at the same angle as the arm portions of the cruciform slots sothat the upper and lower surfaces 86 and 8'! of the strips will coactwith the cam surfaces 83 and 84 of the cruciform slots to effectvertical adjustment of the posts when the member is given horizontalsliding movement with-- in the slots.

When the screw '18 is turned in the nut IT, to draw the member l3 to theleft, as viewed in Figure 2, the upper cam surfaces 83 of the slots andthe upper surfaces 85 of the cam strips coact to elevate the posts andincrease the tilt or'the vrollsg and when .the:memoer is is moved tothe-right the lower cam surfaces 84 of the slots and cam surfaces ll :ofthe cam, strips coact to lower the outer posts and decrease the tilt oftherolls.

The magnet which, as mentioned "above, draws the. central portions ofthe sheets downwardly is located, .as shown in Figures 3 and l, betweenthe conveyor H and the piling rolls so as to exertthe maximum forceuponzthe sheets: While the magnet may be supported any suitable manner,it is shown as being supported by a member til which also acts as'a topcover for the magnet and for the universal coupling 50. The supportingmember fill secured to the inner posts E i as at 9.! and has an apronportion 52 extending downwardly between and in. front of the pilingrolls, and secured to a bracket 93. It will be noted that the depend ingapron portion $32 of the member effectively prevents the trailing edgesof the sheets from being drawn back. under the rolls. With thisconstruction there is no danger of the. sheets being entangled underthe. rolls even. though they may rebound from the stop 32.

In order to guide the sheets properly into contact with the pilingrolls, sheet metal aprons or guide plates -9 are mounted on suitablesupports 95 inposition to bridge the space between the conveyor ll andthe rolls. The plates (it, as shown in Figure 3, are rectangular in planview consisting of the triangular portions 96 which are. substantiallyrigid, and portions 9.? whichgare of. thinner stock and arereadily flexible. The longitudinal edges .of the flexible portions Jlie closeagainst the rolls when the rolls are straight andparallel and bendupwardly when the rolls, are tilted so that the-edges continue to remainadjacent. the. rolls at .all times. The ner-iible portions s1 thus actasguide plates which are effective for all angles of tilt of the rolls,ensuring that the sheets will strike the rolls properly; and particulalypreventing the sheets from striking the rolls below their centers toride under the rolls. Only the leading edge of the leading sheetstrikesthe guide plates, the balance of the sheets tending to span the gapbetween the conveyor and the rolls once the sheets have contacted therolls. There is thus little danger of the apron scratching or marringthe surface finish of the sheets.

It is desirable also to provide rollers 93 on either side of the magnetas shown in Figure 3, to hold the sheets slightly spaced away from themember so and to prevent the sheets from being pulled into directsliding contact therewith. The rollers thus minimize the danger of thesheets being scratched by contact with stationary member The tilted rollconstruction just described has a number of advantages. The rolls areeasily adjusted as to angle of tilt during operation of the apparatus toimpart the desired amount of lateral bowing to the sheets. The sheetsare thus given the proper longitudinal stiffness which permits them tobe delivered against the stop members in a manner which permits them todrop flat even at low lineal velocities and which permits uniform andaccurate piling The magnet which draws the sheet into contact with therolls enables the lateral bowing to be induced with rolls of uniformdiameter and this in turn eliminates the scratching of the sheets whichtends to occur with rolls of varying crosssection. Also the strength ofthe magnet scan be adjusted. to exert just :the proper amount of forcetokeep the sheetsin contact with the rolls but .not so much asto-drawthe sheets into contact with surfaces which might scratch thesheets. With such a construction there .is no danger that the sheetswill fail to engage 'therolls properly,,;for the guides prevent thesheets from being drawn under the rolls. Also since the rolls areuniform in. diameter they may be .madeof relatively hard materialwithout/danger of scratching the 5' sets, thus obviating the use of.fabric covered rolls which when used in the past often caught andsnagged the sheets.

Various modifications and changes will-occur to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of my inventionand is tobc understoodthat the particular embodiment of the invention has been described,herein only by way of example. The essential characteristics of the,invention are summarized in :the claims;

Iclairn:

.1. A piling apparatus adapted to recelvesheets of'magnetic materialfroma conveyor and to pile the same in vertical piles, comprising a pair"of r lls .having their longitudinal axes. lying in the same verticalplane but tilted with respect to each other, means to drive said rolls,and magnetic means positioned adjacent the lower ends of said rolls andadapted to draw portionscr" said. sheets downwardly from belowwherebysaid sheets are bowed laterally.

2. A piling apparatus adaptedztoreceivesheets of magnetic material froma conveyorand to pile the same in vertical piles, comprising a pair ofrolls whose inner ends are .atsubstantially the same level and whoseouter ends aresubstantially above said level whereby the longitudinalaxes of said rolls are tilted toward each other, means-to drive saidrolls at a speed substantially equal to the speed of said conveyor, andmagnetic means positioned adjacent the inner ends of said 'rolls andadapted to draw the middle portions ofsaid sheets downwardly from belowwhereby said sheets are given a concave lateral bowing.

3. A piling apparatus adapted to'receivesheets of magnetic material fromaconve-yor and topile the samein vertical piles comprising a pair ofrolls having their adjacent ends disposed at .the same level and theirlongitudinal axes tilted toward each other, means to drive said rolls,magnetic means positioned adjacent the inner ends of said rolls andadapted to draw portions of said sheets downwardly from below whereby"said sheets have contact with said rolls were substantial portion ofthelength thereof, means to adjust the tilted position of said rolls,and guide plate means positioned between said conveyor and said rollsadapted to guide said sheets into contact with the upper surfaces ofsaid rolls.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said guide plate means has aresilient'ilexible portion having a longitudinal. edge adapted to lieclosely adjacent said rolls and adapted to bend to remain adjacent saidrolls when said rolls are adjusted as to degree of tilt.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 and a plate extending between saidrolls and downwardly in front of said rolls whereby to prevent saidsheets from engaging the lower surfaces ofsaid rolls.

(3. Apparatus according to claim 5 and roller means positioned adjacentsaid magnetic means for preventing said sheets from being drawn intocontact therewith 7. A piling apparatus adapted to receive sheets ofmagnetic material from a conveyor and to pile them in vertical piles,comprising a pair of rolls of uniform diameter having their inner,adjacent ends disposed at the same level and their longi tudinal axestilted with respect to each other, means to drive said rolls, andmagnetic means positioned between the rolls and adapted to draw thesheets into contact with the rolls to bow the sheets laterally, means toadjust the tilted position of said rolls comprising pairs of postssupporting the inner and outer ends of said rolls, one pair of saidposts being fixed, the other pair of posts having cam surfaces, a memberhaving cam surfaces adapted to coact with said post cam surfaces wherebyto adjust the vertical position of said posts when said member is movedrelative to said posts, and means to move said member.

8. Piling apparatus according to claim 7 and means to secure said secondpair of posts against turning movement while permitting vertical slidingmovement of the same.

9. A piling apparatus adapted to receive sheets of magnetic materialfrom a conveyor and to pile them in vertical piles, comprising a pair ofrolls of uniform diameter having their longitudinal axes tilted towardeach other, means to drive said rolls, and magnetic means positionedbetween the rolls and adapted to draw the sheets into contact with therolls to bow the sheets laterally, means to support and to adjust thetilted position of said rolls, comprisingpairs of posts supporting theinner and outer ends of said rolls, respectively, one of said pairs ofposts being fixed, the other pair of posts being vertically adjustable,said second pair of posts having slots with interior cam surfaces, 2.member slidable within said slots and having cam surfaces adapted tocoact with said slot cam surfaces and to adjust the vertical position ofsaid posts when said member is given Sliding movement within said slots,and means to move said member horizontally in said slots to adjust thevertical position of said slotted bearing posts.

16. A piling apparatus adapted to receive sheets of magnetic materialfrom a conveyor and to pile them in vertical piles, comprising a pair ofrolls of uniform diameter having their longitudinal axes tilted withrespect to each other with the outer ends of the rolls higher than theinner ends, means to drive said rolls, and magnetic means positionedbetween the rolls and adapted to draw the sheets into contact with therolls to bow the sheets concavely in a lateral direction, means toadjust said rolls comprising pairs of posts providing journaled supportfor the inner and outer ends of said rolls, respectively, said rollshaving shafts journaled in bearing blocks supported by said posts, saidblocks providing universal movement permitting said rolls to be tiltedand driven in tilted position, a frame having sleeve members affixedthereto supporting said posts, means to fixedly secure the pair of postssupporting the inner ends of said rolls within their supporting sleevescertain of said sleeves supporting said other pair of posts havinghorizontally extending grooves, a member slidable within said groovesand supported by said sleeves, said second pair of posts having slotswith interior cam surfaces, said member being slidable within said slotsin said posts and having cam surfaces adapted to coact with saidinterior cam surfaces to adjust the vertical position of said posts whensaid member is given sliding movement within said slots, and means tomove said member.

11. A piling apparatus adapted to receive sheets of magnetic materialfrom a conveyor and to pile them in vertical piles, comprising a pair ofrolls of uniform diameter having their adjacent ends disposed at thesame level and their longitudinal axes disposed in the same verticalplane and tilted with respect to each other, means to adjust the tiltedposition of said rolls, means including a flexible driving connection todrive said rolls for all tilted positions thereof, and magnetic meanspositioned adjacent said rolls to draw said sheets into substantiallyfull contact with said rolls whereby to impart a lateral bowing to saidsheets.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 in which said flexible drivingconnection is secured to one of said rolls and said rolls are connectedby a universal coupling.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said means for adjusting thetilting of the rolls comprises a pair of posts supporting the outer endsof said rolls, a pair of posts supporting the inner ends of said rolls,and a member simultaneously engaging and supporting the posts of atleast one of said pairs of posts and adapted to adjust the verticalposition of said posts when said member is moved relative to said posts.

14. A piling apparatus adapted to receive sheets of magnetic materialfrom a conveyor and to pile them in vertical piles, comprising a pair ofrolls of uniform diameter having their longitudinal axes disposed in thesame vertical plane and tilted toward each other, means to drive saidrolls, and magnetic means positioned between the rolls and adapted todraw the sheets into contact with the rolls to how the sheets laterally,means to support and to adjust the tilted position of pairs of postssupporting the inner and outer ends of said rolls, respectively, one ofsaid pairs of posts being fixed, the other pair of posts beingvertically movable, said second pair of posts being provided with slotsgenerally cruciform in longitudinal section, each slot having a mainportion and lateral arm portions, the arm portions having upper andlower cam surfaces extending laterally and upwardly, a member comprisinga rectangular elongated plate adapted to extend within and through themain portions of said cruciform slots and having cam strips affixedthereto adapted to lie within said arm portions, said cam strips havingcam surfaces adapted to contact said upper slot cam surfaces and saidlower slot cam surfaces; and means for moving said member comprising anut secured to said member and screw means engaging said nut adapted tomove said member through said slots when said screw is rotated.

PERRY G. SNYDER.

References Cited in the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,342,117 Knowles June 1, 1920 1,706,533 Lorig et a1, Mar. 26,1929 1,870,337 Lincoln Apr. 9, 1932 2,291,261 Taylor July 28, 19422,381,430 Belluche Aug. 7, 1945 2,460,876 Dager Feb. 8, 1949 2,486,121Corn Oct. 25, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 428,032 GreatBritain May 3, 1935

